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PYRADEV (Amstrad Action) | PYRADEV (TILT) | PYRADEV (CPC Magazin) | PYRADEV (Aktueller Software Markt) |
What's this? Yes, Gremlin Graphics have a new utilities label - Discovery. Andrew Wilton admires Pyradev, a suite of programs that give you - a software developement system. If you want to be a machine-code wizard, it'll take more than a big book or two - you're going to need some utilities. With this new development package on Gremlin's Discovery label you can get all the tools for the job in one go. The full-screen editor, used to enter and edit source code, is probably the weakest of the main programs - it isn't particularly bad, but it does lack the thoroughness evident in the rest of the system. The problem is quite simple - all editing has to be done in overwrite, rather than the more normal insert, mode. If you accidentally omit a character the only solution is to insert a space using, and overwrite it with the appropriate character While this isn't a serious problem, it is unnecessary and annoying - not least because it mars an otherwise impressive package. Indeed, the editor itself is fast and powerful in most respects, so it's an unfortunate omission all round.
Assembler The assembler, on the other hand, has just about everything you could wish for macros, conditional assembly, undocumented instructions, the lot. It runs at a healthy speed, even when it's outputting the source to screen. It can link enormous source files -up to 992K on a two-drive system - and write the resulting machine code to disk in AMSDOS or CP/M transient command format. The extra RAM of a 6128 or an expanded 64K machine is used to speed the assembly process up, by cutting down the need for disk access. There's really not much more an assembler could have -there's no parenthesis or operator precedence in its expression set. but that's about it. Monitor/dissassembler The monitor/disassembler is a similarly thorough piece of work. Disassembler This is straightforward, though lacking a few features that you might have found helpful - it won't follow jumps, for one thing. You can disassemble to your screen, printer or - very usefully - to a disc file. Automatic labelling with the latter makes editing and reassembly not only feasible but reasonably easy. Bank switching, block move and saving to tape/disc round off this impressive module. Disk Nurse Lastly, Disk Nurse allows you to inspect the contents of a disc, unerase files, search, modify and copy disc sectors directly - in short, it is a powerful utility, invaluable for the hackers and hands-on programmers among you. The Verdict So, a strong package which should give you all the programming power you need. The price is very reasonable considering what you actually get - a complete development system - and bearing in mind the price of the Z80 manual and firmware guide you'll also need to buy. Beginners may find the documentation a little unhelpful, but this is nothing unusual - and in any case, Discovery have thoughtfully included three sample source files which double as self-teaching aids. Occasional errors aside, experienced users will find little to grumble about - technical points are covered quite well, and the monitor notes are particularly helpful. AMSTRAD ACTION #7 |
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